Peter by Hugh Cron (Strong Adult Content)

“I need to speak to Peter.”

Ann looked at him and worried straight away.

“What’s wrong love, why has he got you so riled – I mean, for fuck sake, he’s Peter, the most inoffensive wee guy that we’ve ever known.”

Colin gave her a hug, “I don’t want to say anything until I hear his side.”

He grabbed a bottle of whisky. She wondered if she should follow him as he did look pissed off. But she trusted him and knew, or well, hoped that he wouldn’t do anything stupid. If she was honest, her curiosity was annoying her more than her worry.

Colin took a deep breath and rattled his neighbours door.

Another breath.

The door opened, “Hi Colin, How’s it going? I was just about to put my dinner on.”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course. Are you okay, you look a bit angry.”

“Will you have a drink with me?”

“Sure, but you need to tell me what’s wrong.”

He ignored him and opened the whisky. Peter went into the kitchen and brought out two glasses. Colin poured.

“Sit down.”

The two men looked at each other and Peter’s face began to redden.

He took a gulp of his whisky.

Colin felt his stomach twist, “I’ve seen that look before…

…

…What have you heard?”

“So you’ll not deny it?”

“Please Colin you, Ann and Lucy are my only friends.”

“Don’t mention my wife and daughters names, not now!”

He held his hands up, “Okay, okay!

…Please don’t look at me like that and tell me what you’ve heard.”

Colin stared at him, “I met someone today who I’ve known from school. We were pals and even though he is a bit of an idiot, I’ve always been able to trust him. We went for a beer and he asked me where I was staying. I told him and he then told me something very interesting. You see, he’d been doing time for aggravated assault and whilst there, he got to know a guy who was in for rape. He felt sick near the cunt, but he was actually trying to set him up so that a few of them could kick the shit out of him.

…Anyhow, the cunt didn’t get the shit kicked out of him, he was put into protection for the rest of his term. Fuck knows how, but the hierarchy got wind of what they were up to.”

“I know where this is going”

“I’m not finished!

Peter nodded.

“Seems my friend bumped into this guy, Derek something or another, a few weeks back and he told…”

“Badger”

“…Aye Badger! That he was staying in my street and had been for the last two years.

…Fucking coincidentally you moved in next to me two years ago.

But I don’t know you as fucking Derrick!!

“Please Colin, you don’t need to get upset and also you don’t need to raise your voice, remember, you’re in my house.”

“You fucking little prick!”

Peter wasn’t quick enough to get out the way of the head-butt. He screamed as he fell and blood ran from his nose. He held his hands up and started to cry.

“Please! I’m not violent!”

“Not to me, cause I ain’t got a pair of tits you fucking freak!”

He crawled away and grabbed his cardigan, he held it to his nose and sobbed into it.

“Please Colin, don’t hit me again. Let me explain.”

Colin moved towards him and Peter flinched, he held his hands up to protect his face.

“No!”

“I’ve not decided what I’m going to do to you yet. I have only one thing to ask you, which I think you have answered by the way…Just for my piece of mind…The cunt that Badger was talking about, is that you?

…“Yes.”

“You dirty perverted rapist bastard. No woman wants you so you just think you can take her! And then you have the fucking cheek to befriend my wife and sixteen year old daughter!

…Let me tell you this..”

“I’m no threat. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll tell you exactly what happened.”

“As if I’m going to believe a piece of shit like you.”

Peter began to laugh, “I can guarantee that you’ll believe me.”

That phrase stopped him in his tracks, “What do you mean.”

“Let me tell you and you’ll believe me and you’ll see that I’m no threat to you, A… Sorry! Or your wife…And daughter.

…Please Col, give me that. If you want to kick the shit out of me after, then go for it, I’ll not even lift a hand to protect myself.”

All that spun around in his head was, ‘Why will I believe him? How the fuck can that happen?’

He nodded, “Make it quick.”

Peter nodded towards the whisky, “Can I? I think you’ve broken my nose.”

Colin poured them both out a drink and stood over him.

“This is difficult.”

“Hurry the fuck up.”

“Okay…Well…Shit…Okay…”

He took a deep breath, “Eight years ago, I lost Linda, she’s, sorry, was my wife to lung cancer. It was a horrible death. Me and my daughter spent the last few days scooping blood out of her mouth as she had no capability to do it herself. She was completely out of it on morphine.”

“You never said you had a wife or daughter.”

“I’ll get to the reason. Linda was the love of my life for nearly thirty years. Carol was born the year after we were married and we both doted on her.”

He began to sob again, took a drink and wiped his face. Colin still stood.

“This is hard.”

“The year after Linda died, we had a meal and a drink in celebration of her life – I think that’s what you call it these days. We went back to my house and Ian left, oh Ian is my son-in-law. Carol told him that she was staying with me that night, just to make sure I was alright.”

Colin moved over to the couch and sat down, he felt sick.

“…Emmm…

… It just happened.”

Colin’s eyes widened, “You fucking mutant! You raped your own daughter?”

Peter held his hands up, “No! Please let me finish. I didn’t. That was the problem.”

“What?? What the fuck are you telling me?”

“Jesus!! We were talking about Linda, smiling, but more crying and we cuddled, we both felt so close to each other.

“Fuck no!! Jesus fuck no!!”

I touched her cheek. She leaned back onto the couch…Fuck, I can’t tell you how much she looked like her mum. She was crying. I put my hand on the top of her thigh to give it a squeeze as you do to comfort someone…

and that was when it happened.

…She opened her legs and moved my hand. We cried until, well, you know.”

Colin threw his head back, “What the actual fuck are you telling me?”

“There’s more…”

“More!”

“You may as well hear it all. The reason that I was convicted of rape was if I hadn’t said that I had raped her, she would also have been done. Three years each we were facing. I couldn’t have her doing that so I said it was all me that night after she had fallen asleep drunk.

Because I admitted to it I was given eight years and was out in around six for time served.”

“I’m not sure I want to ask this, do you still see her?”

His voice wavered, “No. My Carol turns forty next year and I can’t see her. There’s no way Ian would have that, he’d kill me and she has to keep up the facade of being disgusted with me so he never suspects.”

“Well I’m truly fucking disgusted with you!”

“But she was an adult, close to twenty-nine when it happened. It was consensual.”

“Consensual? Fuck me! You are the parent. Don’t you see that?”

Peter shrugged.

“…Hang on, how did the Police find out?”

“That’s a funny story.”

“Funny??”

“You see, Michelle, that was Linda’s sister had become like a mother to Carol and for whatever reason, Carol told her. According to Carol, Michelle stated that she would be contacting the Police. I don’t really know what was said between them cause things happened so fast after that. When I was told, I went straight to a lawyer who gave me my options. I didn’t want my daughter seeing me and persuading me otherwise so I phoned her and told her what I was going to do.

…Long story short, I handed myself in, I don’t even know if Michelle ever went to the Police, on thinking on it, I don’t think she would’ve as she loved Carol.”

Peter moved towards him, “And that is funny?”

“No the funny bit is I was always worried what Michelle would do later on but she died a few weeks in when I was locked up waiting sentencing. I saw her obituary.

I was finally moved in here and here we are.”

Colin lifted the whisky and sat it down beside Peter.

“So, you understand? You’re not going to kick the shit out of me?”

“No. I don’t understand, and no, I don’t want to even touch you. You are a sick cunt. Don’t even look at my wife and daughter, if you do, we will have a problem and the press will have a story. You keep the whisky, it will give you something to sip while you look for another rent.”

“Colin please…It’s me, Peter. I’m just the same.”

Colin turned to walk away…”And that’s the fucking problem!”

Hugh Cron